Big Green Teams

Hot Stove League Comes Out into the Open as Baseball Season Brings Unusual Problems to Jeff Tesreau

PERHAPS IT IS merely a coincidence that in this year of anniversary for baseball, the representatives of the national pastime in Hanover have offered the most interesting early season in the six years that your correspondent has been closely associated with Coach Jeff Tesreau and his stalwarts.

We say interesting, not because it is the best nine over this span of years, not because the team got off to a fast start in its first Eastern Intercollegiate League contest with Pennsylvania (8-2), but because this spring the problems of the team have been multiple and the element of uncertainty has been present in every practice session and each announcement of the starting lineup.

First of all, as we conveyed last month, only three members of last years championship team returned for the positions that held in 1938. They were: Captain Joe Urban behind the plate, George Hanna in left field and Hal (Chief) Wonson on the mound.

Otherwise new faces or old faces at new positions were a dime a dozen, and for those who enjoy nothing so much as watching undergraduates battle for coveted positions on a Dartmouth sports team, the situation offered rare possibilities.

And such has been the case. Above all we have followed the thoughts of Coach Jeff move by move with an appreciation that comes only with the understanding that Dartmouth's baseball destinies are in the hands of a man who rightfully ranks among the first ten baseball minds in the nation—major league managers included. As aforementioned the problems were multiple, but it has been apparent that Coach Jeff almost welcomed the task, for he has rolled back his sleeves each afternoon in training sessions and pitched into the hurdles with an attitude of letting the chips fall where they may so long as Dartmouth shall once more be creditably represented on the baseball diamond in the spring of 1939.

One of the breaks of good fortune that helped matters considerably was the fact that this year's trip into the southland was not the mad rush from pillar to post that usually characterized the jaunt below the Mason and Dixon line. For this year the Big Green nine stayed put in Williamsburg for four days, and the amount of practice that this stay made possible was a life saver. Had the squad been constantly on the road between ball games as is the usual case, none of the drilling on smart baseball would have been possible.

Then, too, Coach Jeff had many decisions to make in regard to his lineup, and the long stop over at William and Mary afforded him the opportunity to give each candidate a tryout above and beyond the ordinary length of time.

As a member of the party, we noted with keen anticipation that Coach Jeff never hurried into his decisions, but weighed each problem carefully and thoroughly before announcing his mind.

What were some of the problems that faced Dartmouth's baseball mentor? First of all it is a tried and proven axiom of baseball that no team is stronger than its middle section—catcher, pitcher, short stop, second base and center field. Urban offered no question. The pitching staff was a process of selection in that one of the quartet of twirlers must be chosen to start the season against Penn, and whether to rely on a veteran in Wonson or call upon an untried sophomore in George Sexton, Johnny Lendo or Pidge Hughes tested the knowledge of Coach Jeff, who has never failed to come up with the right answer at the proper time.

Around second base during the southern trip it was apparent that at least for the initial game with Penn senior Ev Woodman would not be ready for his best performance. Followers of the team could see that this was so, for not only is it commonly known that Woodman needs more time to prepare himself than is the case with most of the players but the fact of the matter is Woodman's play in the south showed this to be true. Where others just wondered what would happen, Coach Jeff came up with the answer by placing pitcher Lendo at short for the opening encounter, a move that was not only successful but carried the team along until such a time as Woodman would be at his best. In second baseman sophomore Jack Orr, coach Jeff had a player with much natural ability and little polish in the fine points of the game. This latter deficiency Tesreau worked overtime on in the practice sessions, until now Orr looks like two different players both afield and at bat.

The hot stove league during the winter months was all questions as to whether or not sophomore Gus Broberg would be able to hit in his first attempt at a varsity berth, for his freshman baseball record had been woefully weak with the Louisville slugger. Of course every baseball fan was anxious to see what methods Coach Jeff would take in correcting the bad hitting habits that Gus had developed. Practically every ball fan had his answer—there is something about baseball that encourages downtown quarterbacking more than any other sport —but none came up with the right answer except Jeff, and likely his answer was so simple that only a coach of Tesreau's worth would ever have given it a thought. Tesreau merely said to Broberg, "Go up there to the plate and take your cut any darn way you please. Take no suggestions from anybody, and suit yourself." Not once during the early drills did Jeff have any comments to make to Broberg even though at times it did seem as if he would burst from desire to say a word now and then. How completely clever Jeff's plan of attack was is proven by no other statement than the hitting Broberg turned in against Penn in the League start. Of course no one expects Broberg to continue at this pace, but the main point is he has his confidence back and Dartmouth baseball adds one more brilliant centerfielder to the long list of capable operatives Coach Tesreau has produced year after year in the center garden.

Whether Jeff's maneuvers will enable Dartmouth to keep its title is another matter. As we now see the League race, Yale and Harvard are the teams to beat, which is nothing unusual. The Elis have a twoman pitching staff of Moe Jubitz and Joe Wood Jr. that is of championship cloth. Harvard, on the other hand, represents the League's most potential batting strength that may or may not score enough runs per game to annex the needed eight or nine victories for the pennant. In selecting the teams of Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth as likely pennant winners, we do not slight for a moment the other entries, all of whom appear stronger than a year ago and any of whom can decide which team will cop the title on their ability to upset the favorites on any given afternoon.

There has been much comment as to which of the pitching staffs, Yale or Dartmouth's—was the better. On the basis of entire twirling staffs, Dartmouth is far and away superior. With Wonson, Sexton, Lendo, Hughes, Bill Maxson (whose sore arm is gradually coming around) and senior Bud Clifford, who is looking better than he has since his starring days as a freshman, the Indians would run away with the League were it a go game schedule rather than the short 12 game schedule that it is. One good pitcher can win the E. I. L. race as Wonson proved last year, and two outstanding pitchers are plenty enough. Therefore the Yale staff of two counts fully as much as the Dartmouth staff in considering the all-important matter of ability on the mound. As aforementioned, Coach Jeff must decide which of his pitchers to use in League contests to give Dartmouth its best possible team in the only baseball games that Dartmouth is concentrating on winning. At this writing right-handers Sexton and Lendo top the staff. Wonson, who reported late for baseball after a long indoor track campaign, is coming into his own again and has every chance of ousting one of these sophomores from a starting pitcher's role. Hughes may never reach top honors this year, but the big left hander has unlimited potentialities and it would be our guess that by the time the three sophomores are seniors, Hughes will be the ace of the trio. Maxson when right is sensational and must be considered. Clifford,

if his comeback career carries on as it has started, has more than an outside chance of nosing his way into the front line trenches. In all events you have some idea of why this spring session has been loaded with interesting things to follow from day to day.

And thus we could ramble on about the ball team without apparent goal, for baseball gossip is endless and the blurbs of a dyed-in-the-wool fan never cease. Not to take advantage of our position to talk baseball into the wee hours of the night, we will wind up the diamond items with a mere summary of the southern season:

Mar. 31 Temple 6, Dartmouth 3. Apr. 1 Dartmouth 11, Navy 11 (called in the 7th). Apr. 3 Dartmouth 11, William and Mary 5. Apr. 7 Maryland to, Dartmouth 0. Apr. 8 St. Johns 3, Dartmouth 2.

While stay-at-home fans wrung their hands together in nervousness, the Indians made a grand start at Penn on April 15. Sexton pitched four scoreless innings, only to weaken in the last of the fifth, placing the tying and winning runs on the bases before Lendo was called in from short to relieve. Both runners on base scored before the side was retired, but thereafter Lendo was air tight and was credited with the victory. Broberg with two hits, Orr with two, and Sexton with three were the batting stars..

At Lafayette on Monday, April 17, the Green was defeated in a six inning contest, 5-1. Wonson was on the mound and his troubles came from one home run hit with a man on base, and another two base hit with two on. Otherwise the Chief performance showed return to form.

While the ball team was thus performing, the other spring sports teams were cutting a wide path for themselves. Track once more jumped into the headlines with a climactic victory over Penn for Harry Hillman's spikesters. The Green on its southern trip took Virginia, 96-30, tied Maryland 63-63 in a thriller; and trounced the men of the Red and Blue, 75 2/3 to 59 1/3. The Indians are strong in the field events this year and need only to bring up the running events with practice to make this track team the best in several years in dual meet capacity. Dartmouth's golf team, potentially powerful again this spring, split even on the road in six contests, which is more than good for this time of year. Coach Red Hoehn's tennis team also performed above expectations with two victories, one tie (1-1 called after first match in rain) and one defeat. The defeat by the University of Virginia was not without its high spot, for the two points scored in the 7-2 match were the first points given up by the Virginians to an opponent this spring.

There is also a rumor about that Coach Tommy Dent has a varsity lacrosse team that is capable of retaining its New England League title.

Without having had a look-see we pass this along as second hand information. To date the stickmen have a record as follows: Navy n-Dartmouth 3; St. John's (of Annapolis) 11-Dartmouth 5; Stevens College 2-Dartmouth 13; Pennsylvania 13-Dartmouth 14 (called by Coach Dent one of the most exciting college lacrosse games he has even seen). We will in next month's issue bring you up to date on the personnel of the spring sports teams other than baseball after ample chance to look at the athletes in action.

Dartmouth also elected two captains for next winter—Ed Rideout (cross-country, jumping, and combined) as leader of the skiers; and Ed White (center and guard) as head of the varsity basketball group. .

INDIAN RIGHT FIELDER (AT PRESENT) Ned Hein, junior from Toledo, Ohio, whois currently leading in the three-corneredfight for the right field berth on the Greennine.

BASEBALL CHAMELEONOsmo (Swede) Linden '39, of Franklin,N. H., who in two seasons has played firstbase, second base, third base, and rightfield, and who is now holding down the jobof regular third-sacker.